October 28, 2016

CD Review: INFERNO: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE SOUNDTRACK

Music by Hans Zimmer. (2016, 71 min).
SONY CLASSICAL

I generally review soundtrack albums in the relative privacy of my car during daily commutes, allowing me to focus on the music without much distraction. The first thing I noticed while listening to Inferno was it made me want to drive really fast, weaving in and out of traffic as though time were running out and thousands of lives were at stake. If that isn’t a solid endorsement for Hans Zimmer’s third go-round at scoring this franchise, I don’t know what is.

One thing I’ve always liked about Hans Zimmer is his versatility. He's masterful at scoring films of pretty much any genre, whether composing for a full traditional orchestra or noodling with banks of computers & synthesizers. I’ve always been partial to the latter, which Zimmer utilizes to great effect here. Inferno one of the most exciting - and loud - film scores I’ve heard from him in a long time.

Though the disc consists of 17 tracks, each one segues into the next to form what’s essentially a 70 minute suite of intense, pounding and propulsive music. Heavily percussive with loads of peaks & valleys, synthesizers flourishes and occasionally abrasive audio effects, there are moments when it almost sounds like Zimmer drew some inspiration from industrial metal. It also reminded me of his criminally underrated scores for Crimson Tide & Broken Arrow, as well his contributions to the main title of The Rock.

Music like this seldom gets nominated for Oscars or anything (probably because films like this don’t either), which is too bad because, even if the movie ends up sucking, Inferno is one hell of a soundtrack album. Like Zimmer's best scores, it also works when heard as a stand-alone piece of music.

But unless your itching for a speeding ticket, I wouldn't recommending listening to it in your car

KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! BETTER THAN A FRESH CAN O' TUNA.

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